From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Wed Aug 05 2009 - 08:40:30 EDT
Canada pressured to cut foreign aid to Ethiopia Tue Aug 4, 2009 2:44pm EDT
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* Lawyer for jailed man calls for move on foreign aid
* Ottawa says will wait for results of appeal
* Ethiopia group says man was not involved with rebels (Adds quotes from
Canadian foreign minister, Ethiopian group)
By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Canada's government should consider curbing
foreign aid to Ethiopia to express its unhappiness over the case of a
Canadian jailed for life in the African country, a lawyer for the man said
on Tuesday.
An Ethiopian court jailed Bashir Makhtal on Monday after he was convicted of
membership in a rebel group fighting for independence for an ethnically
Somali part of the country.
Lorne Waldman, Makhtal's Canadian lawyer, said the charges were baseless and
he called on Ottawa to look at its aid to Ethiopia. In 2006-07, the latest
period for which figures were available, the assistance totaled C$83 million
($77 million).
"We have a lot of leverage because we provide a very generous aid package to
Ethiopia," Waldman told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
"I believe we have the power to influence whatever happens to Bashir Makhtal
and we're hopeful the Canadian government will be very forceful in its
approaches to the Ethiopians over the next few days," he said.
Makhtal's relatives in Canada, speaking after the sentence was handed down,
also called on Ottawa to freeze foreign aid.
Canadian officials did not directly address the possibility of ending aid,
saying they were waiting to see what happened with an appeal promised by
Makhtal's Ethiopian lawyer.
"This is a hypothetical question linked to the success or failure of the
appeal process. We continue to monitor the case closely," said Catherine
Loubier, chief spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon.
"(We) will continue to explore all options for supporting Bashir Makhtal ...
any aid decisions are made according to several criteria, with an aim at
helping those in need."
Waldman said he did not expect the appeal to succeed. Cannon said on Monday
that Canada was "extremely disappointed" by the life sentence.
Makhtal, who was born in Ethiopia but became a Canadian citizen in 1994, was
found guilty last week on three charges related to membership of the Ogaden
National Liberation Front (ONLF). His grandfather was a founder of the
group.
The Ogaden Human Rights Committee (OHRC), which calls itself independent,
said Bashir was not a member of the ONLF and not involved in politics.
"On the basis of available information about his case, the OHRC believes
that there was not credible evidence for his conviction," the group said in
a statement. "His trial was a travesty. (He is) a victim of a political
vendetta."
Ethiopia says the ONLF -- which wants independence for the eastern Ogaden
region -- is a terrorist group supported by rival Eritrea. The ONLF accuses
the Ethiopian military of routinely killing civilians and burning villages.
Foreign oil and gas companies think Ogaden's huge deserts might be rich in
mineral deposits. The ONLF has warned foreign companies their workers will
be attacked if they attempt exploration in the region.
($1=$1.07 Canadian) (With additional reporting by Barry Malone in Addis
Ababa; editing by Rob Wilson)
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